During the installation of plumbing in residential and commercial buildings, it is often necessary to extend the plumbing through a wall and to provide a fixture located outside of the wall. Such fixtures are usually of a decorative nature and are provided with a flange or bezel intended to cover the aperture in the wall. An example of such a fixture is, for instance, the bath spout. During the roughing-in phase of the plumbing installation, supply pipes are mounted behind the wall between the studding, while lateral extentions are provided to pass through openings in the wall itself. When the shower stall wall is provided and is covered with tile, openings in the wall covering and in the tile are made to surround the pipes to which the fixtures will ultimately be attached. Due to various inaccuracies that are introduced by the carpenter, the plumber, and the tile setter, it is unlikely that the pipe extending outwardly will be exactly at a right angle to the wall surface. This means that, when the fixture is attached, the edge of its flange will lie at an angle to the wall and, therefore, not be waterproof. The gap thus formed will allow liquid to pass into the opening between the edge of the flange and the wall surface and to enter the aperture through the wall. Such water will, therefore, pass to the inside of the wall. Water leaking behind the wall can not only cause deterioration of the woodwork in the wall, but can also leak down into apartments or space below. Although plumbers, while installing the fixtures, attempt to use sealants and other materials to prevent this, nevertheless, it continues to occur. Attempts have been made in the past to provide the tub and shower valve constructed in such a way that they can be adjusted angularly relative to the pipe to which they are attached, but such attempts have not only been unsuccessful, but constitutes a costly way of manufacturing the valves. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a unique manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a sealing system for tub, shower and like fixtures which prevents the entry of flowing water, condensate, and steam behind the wall to which the fixture is attached, abuts, or penetrates.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a seal for flanged fixtures, which seal is not easily detached from the fixtures, which is highly resilient, and yet will not absorb water.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a sealing system for a fixture in which a permanent connection is made between a seal and the fixture, so that the seal will not be dislodged from the fixture during shipment, installation, and use.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a sealing system for a flanged fixture which system is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture with readily obtainable materials, and which is capable of a long life of service with a minimum of maintenance.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.